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District of Columbia
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Today is the 148th anniversary of President Lincoln signing the Compensated Emancipation Act, For the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia , making DC residents the "First Freed" by the federal government. Today is known as DC Emancipation Day here in Washington DC and it is the only official local holiday. ...
DailyKos (DC) - Fri 1:09 p.m. - 4 clicks 
The headline on yesterday’s New York Times piece on the demographics of Tea Partiers read: “Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated“—than the general public, that is. The nutgraf adds that they’re also likely to be older, whiter, maler, and (shocking!) more conservative. Now, the obvious question for me is: Why wouldn’t you try [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Fri 10:42 a.m. - 5 clicks
This just came in. Gandhi to Rhee: "Surplus does not exist." Bill Turque of DC Schools Insiders blog reported "that District Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi just released a letter he sent to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee saying that the $34 million surplus she cited Tuesday as a basis for helping to finance teacher salaries under the proposed new labor contract "does not e...
The Washington Teacher - Thu 5:29 p.m. - 5 clicks
The wires are reporting that former senior NSA executive Thomas Drake has been indicted for leaking classified material to a reporter at a national paper. The paper and reporter are unnamed, but we get a date range for the articles published using Drake’s information: late February 2006 through November 2007. I can’t help but notice [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Thu 11:08 a.m. - 3 clicks
April 14, 2010 WaPo Interview with with Rhee: 'Conspiracy theorists' have it wrong an update to yesterdays reports that DC schools found a surplus of funds after firing teachers in the name of fiscal emergencies. ...
DailyKos (DC) - Wed 11:04 p.m.
A serious budget shortfall mysteriously disappears and now more than 260 D.C. teachers want their jobs back. They are outraged over the math error within DC Public Schools reported by Chancellor Rhee that has led to a new revelation of a $34 million surplus. Yesterday a number of DC City Council member issued press releases expressing their outrage that this math error led to the wrongful...
The Washington Teacher - Wed 3:03 a.m. - 5 clicks
A little happy-hour jawboning about politics and comic books sounds like a pretty great way to spend a Tuesday after work. This admittedly makes me a huge dork, but fortunately, D.C. is full of huge dorks. So I hope those of you in the area will join me tomorrow at the Laughing Man Tavern from [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Mon 1:00 p.m. - 6 clicks
Featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence with Celeste Jones, graphic artist Given that DC public schools excessed approximately 600 plus teachers last school year, there is reason to believe as many DC teachers will be excessed in June 2010 due to impending school system budget cuts and school restructuring slated to take place. According to the Washington Teachers' Union Tentative Ag...
The Washington Teacher - Sun 4:46 p.m. - 6 clicks
D.C. TEACHERS, STUDENTS, PARENTS and COMMUNITY MEMBERS! …join teachers from Detroit, Virginia, Washington, DC, Connecticut, California and others! “RALLY TO DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION ” Ø Demand Chancellor Michelle Rhee stop toying with our students’ lives! Ø Demand An End To the IMPACT Evaluation Scheme Now! Ø Release All Federal...
The Washington Teacher - Apr 8 - 6 clicks
I’ve written a bit lately about what I see as a systematic trend toward “epistemic closure” in the modern conservative movement. As commenters have been quick to point out, of course, groupthink and confirmation bias are cognitive failings that we’re all susceptible to as human beings, and scarcely the exclusive province of the right. I [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Apr 7 - 3 clicks
Parker Dumps On DC Teachers Mike Debonis (Also known as Loose Lips) of the Washington City Paper's City Desk unveiled the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) internal questions and answers about the tentative agreement which is scheduled to be released this week. Today at 12 noon, WTU Representative Assembly members were sent emails on short notice of a meeting scheduled for April 7, 2010 f...
The Washington Teacher - Apr 6 - 3 clicks
It greatly disturbs me that I pay dues to a union in which our current Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) president, George Parker and certain WTU Executive Board members (M. Angala, J. Armoo, D. Hines, S. Littlejohn, C. Locke, E. Martel, L. Smith, A. Taylor and M. Williams) were unwilling to hear about the details of the April 10 march and rally to defend public education , organized by S...
The Washington Teacher - Apr 4 - 5 clicks
Bill Turque on his DC Schools Insider blog reports on the educational forum hosted by Robert Vinson Brannum and the D.C. Federation of Civic Associations, D.C. Federation of Citizens Associations and Wards 4 & 5 Council on Education. The forum was held on Wednesday evening (March 31) at the DC City Council building. I was in attendance along with many of DC's wrongfully term...
The Washington Teacher - Apr 1 - 4 clicks
Mike Masnick at Techdirt is fuming over Sony’s decision to remove the ability to install third-party operating systems on the Playstation 3 with their next big firmware upgrade. I don’t think I was even aware of the feature, so it’s of little practical import to me, but apparently there are quite a few coders and [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Mar 31 - 4 clicks
D.C. Public Education Reform Forum Panel members include: Nathan A. Saunders, WTU General V.P. Dr. Clifford B. Janey, Former DCPS Superintendent Mary Levy, DCPS Expert Keith White, DCPS Parent Mia Pettus, DCPS Parent Lee Glazer, DCPS Parent Maria Jones, DCPS Parent Keynote speaker: Dr. Katherine Tobin ...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 31 - 2 clicks
All this discussion of morality and epistemology—and especially Freddie’s latest post—reminds me of one of my favorite passages from Robert Nozick, in the introduction to Anarchy State and Utopia. I think it captures my sense of human intellectual inquiry as (what I’ve elsewhere called) The Great Wiki: [T]he usual manner of presenting philosophical work puzzles me. [...]...
Notes from the Lounge - Mar 30 - 5 clicks
This letter was sent to the American Federation of Teachers national union president. March 29, 2010 Dear President Weingarten: “Thanks to Thursday’s (March 25) vote of the Washington Teachers Union, President George Parker and certain WTU Executive Board members will not support the April 10 march to the US Department of Education that has been organized by Steve Conn, a Detroit public sc...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 29 - 4 clicks
On March 18, The Washington Teacher bl og first reported from inside sources that Chancellor Michelle Rhee had pushed up the date to oust favored Principal Patrick Pope from Hardy middle in exchange for Dana Nerenburg who was slated to take over the school in June. Hardy is located at located at 1819 35th St. NW. Nerenburg who is principal of Hyde-Addison will now be in charge of three sch...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 23 - 2 clicks
In an article written this weekend in the Washington Post, Bill Turque reports that Chancellor Michelle Rhee turns to Anita Dunn, a media consultant and former White House Communication Director to help re-build her despicable image. Anita Dunn is the wife of Bob Bauer, White House legal counsel and also is the owner of media firm- Squier, Knapp and Dunn. Rhee's contract with Dunn's firm is st...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 21
This is hot off the press ! Featuring Candi Peterson, blogger in residence & Celeste Jones, graphic artist Is Rhee sweeping out Principal Patrick Pope of Hardy middle school in exchange for Hyde Addison's principal- Dana Nerenburg during the DCPS spring break ? Well some parents are saying that Principal Dana Nerenburg of Hyde Addison elementary school will take o...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 18 - 3 clicks
DC's 266 laid off teachers got a raw deal earlier last year when they were terminated in November 2009 by the Rhee administration after school began. Given that lay-offs in our public schools have historically taken place at the end of the school year in June, rif'd teachers were hit with a double whammy of having to search for new jobs during a economic down turn after school had already begun...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 14
Whether you were just a naysayer or someone who actually still works in the central office and doubted the validity of The Washington Teacher's weekend report, please be advised that DCPS has officially confirmed that the central office firings did take place as I reported. Please read Bill Turque's excerpt in the DC Schools Insider below. If you have read this blog more than once, you wi...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 8 - 3 clicks
UPDATE: A second inside source confirms the central office terminations. Please read below. Given that my sources are usually pretty reliable, it wouldn't be surprising if Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired even more DC public schools staff last week. An anonymous source emailed me that over 20 employees were laid off last Friday from the central office and that even more termin...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 6
Bill Turque in his DC Schools Insider blog further examined Rhee's now infamous comments to Fast Co. magazine that she "got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had sex with children." Since it is likely that Turque's examination of this story won't make the mainstream press- I decided to post it here. Lanier: Only 1 teacher arrested for abuse "D.C. Police Chie...
The Washington Teacher - Mar 5
A DCPS special education teacher at Maury Elementary School calls it quits. Lately, I have received a number of emails and text messages from teachers and colleagues about how many DC public schools teachers are voluntarily calling it quits. Teachers that I have spoken to admit that some of their reasons for leaving are due to the IMPACT evaluation which was rolled out this ...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 28
The DC Schools Insider blog features a story about DCPS lining up support for the upcoming Council annual performance oversight hearing on March 15. Turque who writes for the Insider blog wrote "Testimony at these events tends to become an open-ended infomercial for those unhappy with Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. So Peggy O'Brien, Rhee's family and public engagement chief, is reaching out ...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 26
Update: Principal Patrick Pope wrote the following email to me: Dear Ms. Peterson, "While I was flattered at the adjective "revered", it was with some confusion that I have read that sources state that I am planning to leave DCPS this summer. It is simply speculation and not true. Please keep up the great work of keeping us all on our toes. But if you want to check out my status...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 21 - 5 clicks
We Can Do Better Washington City Paper writer, Mike DeBonis who features a column known as 'Loose Lips' reports this week on the Washington Teachers' Union upcoming 2010 election. Nathan Saunders', WTU General V.P's campaign for the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) top slot as union president is spotlighted in this article. DeBonis speculates in his coverage that 'yours truly' w...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 17
While the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) office was opened Friday for business- no WTU Executive Board meeting was scheduled this second Saturday of the month as required. Not only was a meeting not scheduled by President George Parker- there was 'NO NOTICE ' of our regularly scheduled meeting this time, not even a notice that there would be a cancellation. I checked with three other WTU E...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 13
How did your professional development day shape up ? No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) emphasis on accountability and demands for a high quality teacher in every classroom has spawned an industry of professional development opportunities. Although DC schools had been closed most of this week due to unprecedented snow accumulations - this Friday school opened on time @ 8 a.m. ( u...
The Washington Teacher - Feb 12
A new video from Planned Parenthood with some unusual suspects speaking out for women's reproductive rights. Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Feb 3
I gave to Oxfam during the Tsunami and I gave to the humane society for Katrina (mostly because I couldn't bring myself to give to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, and if I couldn't give to the humans, I had to give to the animals). This morning, I gave to ShelterBox . It wasn't much, but I figure, if I gave $$ and I can inspire 5 more folks to give $$ even just a dollar, and then they insp...
Women Unions - Jan 14
We're very pleased to be co-sponsoring the online labor film database together with the DC Labor Film Fest. This extraordinary resource includes no fewer than 1,465 union films and videos. I think it's a fantastic resource for trade unionists everywhere and we should all be grateful to Chris Garlock and the Washington DC Metro Labor Council for putting this together. If you have videos to sugg...
Women Unions - Jan 4 - 3 clicks
Women’s Policy, Inc. has produced an excellent summary of legislative action affecting women and their families in the first session of the 111th Congress (2009). Read this wonderful recap for the latest substantive legislation action on the following issues: Adoption Appropriations Breast Cancer Federal budget Child Support Children’s Health Insurance Domestic violence Early childhood e...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 31 - 2 clicks
Crossposted on UnionReview When I heard South Carolina Republican Senator say that Collective Bargaining threatens US security, I thought I'd actually fall off my chair. We cannot allow them by unanimous consent, to move ahead with the unionization and collective bargaining of our Airport Security. And there it was, coming out of the mouth of a sitting US Senator, working Americans are a h...
Women Unions - Dec 31
Click here to watch Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) tour de force on health care. You can also read the statement of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). Copyright 2009 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved. ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 22
Are you a fan of the multi-colored marshmallow Peeps? Well, if you are, you'll love the latest store to hit DC's National Harbor -- the first ever brick and mortar Peeps and Company store. There are more than 850 incarnations of the sticky candy in the new venture, from the standard yellow to chocolate covered, as well as novelties based on the Peeps such as spun glass Peeps. My favorite, though, ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Dec 10 - 2 clicks
Don't look now, but embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has moved out of the Family's C Street, DC enclave. Apparently he did not want to bring more attention on the Family and the C Street frat house while his ethics investigation on the horizon -- you know, where they look into whether he and his parents paid off his staffer mistress, her staffer husband, and their son. Yeah, that ethics investiga...
The Zaftig Redhead - Nov 10 - 2 clicks
The F-22 Raptor is a virtually useless paperweight of a fighter jet that can't communicate with any other American aircraft and melts in the rain. Oh yeah, they also cost $356 million EACH, and are made in 44 different states in an effort to make it program too big to fail to politicians worried about losing jobs in their districts. Well, it took a fight, but the Raptor is no more. The program i...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 29 - 2 clicks
Sen. Joe Lieberman (Whatever-CT) has announced his plans to join Republicans in filibustering a public option -- and a weak ass one at that -- in the Senate Democratic health insurance reform bill. Way to go, Joe, for showing everyone what a wanker you really are. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) let Lieberman keep his chairmanship and caucus with the Democrats because he "trusted Joe." Just another mista...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 28
Much attention has been paid to the House and its accomplishments, and its historic first-ever woman Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But to my mind, the House is in generally good shape -- except for some pesky Blue Dogs,of course. For those of you looking for more progressive changes -- health insurance reform, energy bills, immigration reform, improving No Child Left Behind, pay equity advances ...
The Zaftig Redhead - Oct 6 - 3 clicks
